About…

This Blog

This blog is for the students and the parents of the students in my art classes at JFK High School. This is essentially my art room database of information. If you are absent, fall behind or just need a reminder of what we have covered in class… you can find it here. You can also find photo galleries of all of the artwork made in the art room as well as the blogs of each digital photography student.

There are multiple ways to find what you are looking for:

You can hover over the grid of images on the home page and the first couple lines of the lesson will appear showing you the date and class that it is for.

You can scroll to the calendars at the bottom of the blog and click on the day that you are trying to find the lesson for. Once you click on the date it will bring up the lessons for all the classes from that day.

Or you can click on the drop down menus at the top to find the class archive which will sort the lessons by course title.

I am excited to be working as digitally as possible. I believe that this makes learning and information more accessible to everyone. Using a digital platform for education allows the sharing of ideas to occur between students, teachers, parents, our communities and the world.

The Standards

Incorporating technology into the curriculum helps to meet the following standards:

New York State

Non-Majors – 2a. Use the computer and electronic media to express their visual ideas and demonstrate a variety of approaches to artistic creation.

Majors – 2b. Develop Commencement Portfolios that show proficiency in one or more mediums and skill in using and manipulating the computer and other electronic media.

Common Core Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects

Grades 9-10 – 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

Grades 11-12 – 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Students

Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes

Create original works as a means of personal or group expression

Communication and collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media

Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats

Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures

Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems

Research and information fluency: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

Plan strategies to guide inquiry

Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media

Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks

Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology

Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity

Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning

Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship

Technology operations and concepts: Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.

Understand and use technology systems

Select and use applications effectively and productively

Troubleshoot systems and applications

Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Focuses on 21st century skills, content knowledge and expertise

Builds understanding across and among core subjects as well as 21st century interdisciplinary themes

Emphasizes deep understanding rather than shallow knowledge

Engages students with the real world data, tools, and experts they will encounter in college, on the job, and in life–students learn best when actively engaged in solving meaningful problems

Allows for multiple measures of mastery

Me

I have been teaching art since 2005, in this district since 2006 and at JFK HS since 2011. I have taught elementary, middle and high school students and enjoy teaching art at every grade level. I graduated from Buffalo State College in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in Art Education and then again in 2007 with my master’s degree, also in Art Education.

The beliefs that drive my teaching philosophy are:

Every student can learn… and every student can make art… good art.

Every student needs art in some way… as a mode of personal expression, an emotional release, a way to relax or as a “hands on” approach to learning.